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Juan Ponce de León
Juan Ponce de León, born Juan Ponce de León y Figueroa, was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in the early 1500s. Born to a noble Spanish family in the late 15th century, he became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown, and also led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named. Ponce de León was mostly associated with the Fountain of Youth, a legendary spring which was said to grant eternal life. While the fabled Fountain was reputed to be in Florida, from a route shown on navigational charts, Ponce de León discovered the Fountain on an unchartered island. He captained the Santiago during his search for the Fountain until his death. Biography Early life Juan Ponce de León y Figueroa was born to a noble Spanish family in the late 15th century. Despite this, Ponce de León was poor, and like many in similar situations, he sought fame and fortune as a soldier. He received an education in fighting skills, manners and religion while serving a knight named Pedro Nunez de Guzman, later helping in the ten-year conquest of the Muslim kingdom of Granada in southern Spain. Discovery of the New World Juan Ponce de León accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World, and later helped conquer eastern Hispaniola, being appointed governor of the province of Higuey. He conquered Puerto Rico and was appointed it's first governor''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide'' .]] In 1750, the quest for the Fountain of Youth began after his last surviving crew member, now over two hundred years old, brought the ship's log to the Spanish King Ferdinand VI. By that time, Ponce de León's now-skeletal corpse remained in the bed in the captain's quarters of the ''Santiago, being found by Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa, who were searching for the silver Chalices of Cartagena. When Jack attempted to grab the map that the skeletal corpse held, Ponce's head turned towards him. Barbossa silently told Jack to not touch the map, and Jack let go, causing the skeleton's head to turn back to the map. Ponce de León's body would remain aboard the Santiago, examining the map of San Miguel for all eternity. Behind the scenes *Ponce de León was portrayed by a skeleton prop in On Stranger Tides. *Before working on On Stranger Tides, the film crew had no idea how to introduce Ponce de León into the story. They later decided to use the skeleton in the bed from the "Captain's Quarters" tableau from the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, inserting Ponce de León as the skeletal corpse looking at a map with a magnifying glass, surrounded by mounds of treasure. This overt link to the original attraction resulted from director Rob Marshall's research of the ride before he began filming On Stranger Tides. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer stated, "The Ponce de León cabin set symbolizes what we've tried to do in all of the films, which is to reference the original ride but re-invent in fresh and exciting ways."The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides *In real-world history, Juan Ponce de León died in 1521 on Cuba due to a wound from the poisoned arrow. *In the first screenplay draft of At World's End, Hector Barbossa starts to search for the Fountain of Youth, using the captain's journal of Juan Ponce de León that he took from Tia Dalma who in turn received it from a mermaid. *It is implied in Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow that Ponce de León is related to the Spanish stable boy Diego de Leon. *In LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, Ponce de León's portrait hangs on the wall of his cabin on the Santiago. The portrait shows him holding the Chalices of Cartagena. *Juan Ponce de León is a minor character in Tim Powers' novel On Stranger Tides, which was used as the basis for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. In the novel, he found the Fountain on his first expedition, and prolonged his life for the next two centuries. By 1718, he was known as Governor Sawney, an old drunkard on New Providence. Appearances *''Pirates of the Caribbean: Six Sea Shanties'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'' *''LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game'' Sources *''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide'' *''The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook'' *''Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow'' See also *Fountain of Youth External links * Notes and references de:Ponce de León ru:Хуан Понсе-де-Лион Category:Conquistadors Category:Deceased individuals Category:Governors Category:Males Category:Real-world individuals Category:Spaniards Category:Inhabitants of Cuba Category:Inhabitants of Florida